1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a system for conveying articles of various types and, more particularly, to a conveying system which comprises a continuous belt and has the capability of aligning articles on the belt as they are transported.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In numerous commercial and industrial processes it is necessary to transport articles of various types by the use of conveyor systems. A typical conveyor system may consist of one or more continuous belts supported at their ends by rollers and driven by a motor through conventional gear or chain and sprocket arrangements. One application for conveyors is in the food packaging business wherein a trayed food product is fed into a wrapping machine and is discharged from the machine enclosed in a heat shrinkable or stretch film. Once these packages have been wrapped, it is sometimes preferred to transport them to another machine which automatically applies labels to them, identifying the contents of the package. Labelled packages of this type are commonly seen in the produce or meat sections of grocery stores, for example.
In transporting a package from a wrapping machine to an automatic labeler it is desirable to align the package such that the label can be applied to the package in a preselected position and orientation. The placement of the label can be critical to the appearance of the package from the standpoint of permitting the contents of the package to be viewed without interference by the label. Typically, a produce or meat package has a label in one of its corners so that the consumer can readily inspect the package contents. In order to properly align the package for labeling, devices such as guide rails may be used to adjust the position of the package on the conveyor. However, guide rails may not be suitable for aligning packages where the packages vary in size as they discharge from the wrapping machine. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a conveying system having the capability of both transporting articles and aligning them.